Evan Lysacek
Evan Frank Lysacek (born June 4, 1985) is an American figure skater. He is the 2009 World Champion, 2007 & 2008 U.S. National Champion, the 2005 & 2006 World bronze medalist, the 2005 & 2007 Four Continents Champion and 2008 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist. Lysacek was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team at the 2006, where he placed 4th in the men's event. He was the United States Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month for November 2006. As of January 2009, Lysacek was ranked 6th in the world. Latest News *Lysacek won the men's title at the World Figure Skating Championship on March 27, 2009, making him the first American to win the men's title since Todd Eldridge in 1996. His free skate to "Rhapsody in Blue" included eight triple jumps. Nearly flawless Evan Lysacek wins men's title. Philip Hersh, LA Times. March 27, 2009. *On April 6, 2009, Lysacek will participate in Skating with the Stars, the annual Figure Skating in Harlem benefit event at Manhattan's Wollman rink. News, Evan Lysacek official site. __TOC__ Image Gallery Image:Lysacek 1.jpg Videos Trivia *Lysacek has admitted that Brian Joubert is an amazing athlete and one he has looked up to for several years. '''Belbin-Agosto win original dance, Barry Wilner, Associated Press (via Google News). March 26, 2009. *Lysacek is a big fan of the LA sports teams, coming to the Staples Center to see the Lakers and Kings as much as he possibly can. Rising star Chan eclipsed by American, Cam Cole,The Vancouver Sun. March 27, 2009. *Lysacek's mother, Tanya, is so superstitious that she never watches her sons performances. For Evan Lysacek's mother, the word was good, Philip Hersh, LA Times. March 28, 2009. *Lysacek's favorite fashion designer is Hedi Slimane of Yves Saint-Laurent. Skater Lysacek: ‘Michelle Kwan is a total Yoda’, TODAY staff, msnbc.com. February 20, 2009. *When Lysacek trains, he wears Y-3 clothing designed by Yohji Yamamoto for Adidas. Quote On his rivalry with Johnny Weir: On Michelle Kwan: On winning the 2009 Men's Title: Personal life Evan Lysacek was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Naperville, Illinois. His mother, Tanya, is a substitute teacher in Naperville and his father, Don, is a building contractor. He has an older sister, Laura, and a younger sister, Christina, who played on a nationally ranked volleyball team. His cousin Cole Chason is a punter for the Clemson Tigers. Lysacek graduated from Neuqua Valley High School in 2003. In high school, Lysacek was a member of the honor roll, and earned a number of academic achievement awards, including the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence in 1999. Lysacek moved to Los Angeles, California in 2003. He trains in El Segundo, California at the Toyota Sports Center, with coach Frank Carroll. Lysacek studies acting on his own and has also taken method acting classes at the Professional Arts School in Beverly Hills. He appeared in the independent short film Skate Great!, playing a Russian Olympic gold medalist. Lysacek uses power yoga as conditioning training. Lysacek supports a number of charities. He participated in Target - A Time for Heroes, a celebrity charity event benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. He also supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Jimmy Fund). Career Evan Lysacek began skating at the age of eight. His grandmother had always wanted to be in the Ice Capades, so she bought him skates for Christmas. He originally wanted to play hockey but his mother enrolled him and his sister Laura in figure skating lessons so he would learn how to skate. Lysacek became hooked and was soon competing as a figure skater. Early career In 1996, Evan Lysacek won the U.S. national title at the Juvenile level, which is the lowest qualifying level in the U.S. Figure Skating competition structure. In 1997, he moved up to Intermediate and won the pewter medal (fourth place) at the Junior Olympics, after winning both his regional and his sectional qualifying competitions. After failing to qualify for Nationals on the novice level in 1998, Lysacek won the U.S. Novice title at the 1999 United States Figure Skating Championships at the age of thirteen. In the 1999-2000 season, Lysacek made his international junior debut and competed on the 1999-2000 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. He placed seventh at his first event and then won his second event. He was the third alternate to the 1999-2000 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. At the 2000 United States Figure Skating Championships, Lysacek won the Junior title at the age of fourteen. He placed fifth in the short program and first in the free skate, placing first overall. He was the first male skater since Terry Kubicka to win back-to-back Novice and Junior Men's titles in the United States. The win on the junior level was unusual in that Lysacek moved from third to first overall while sitting backstage, because he won through a tiebreak in the 6.0 ordinal system. Lysacek was tied with Parker Pennington in second place ordinals and had one more first place ordinal, giving him the win in the free skate in the Total Ordinals of Majority tiebreaker, which pushed him ahead in overall factored placements, allowing him to win the title overall. Following the U.S. Championships, he was assigned to the 2000 Gardena Spring Trophy in Ortisei, Italy where he won the silver medal on the junior level. Lysacek had a strong showing in the 2000–2001 season. He competed for the second season on the Junior Grand Prix circuit and won two silver medals. He was the 7th qualifier for the 2000-2001 Junior Grand Prix Final and placed 8th at the Final. He made his senior national debut at the 2001 United States Figure Skating Championships that season and placed 12th, at the age of fifteen. Lysacek was named second alternate to the US team to the 2001 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and was placed on the team after Ryan Bradley withdrew due to injury. Lysacek performed two clean programs and came in second behind fellow American Johnny Weir. This was the first time since 1987 that the United States had won gold and silver on the World Junior podium. Over the next season, Lysacek dealt with several injuries, including broken ribs, which resulted in lost training time. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States Figure Skating Association cancelled the 2001-2002 ISU Junior Grand Prix event to be held in Arizona and did not allow their junior skaters to compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit for the rest of that season. At the 2002 United States Figure Skating Championships, Lysacek repeated his 12th place finish from the previous year and was not selected for the team to the 2002 World Junior Figure Skating Championships<. He was sent to the 2002 Triglav Trophy in April, where he won the gold medal on the junior level. After that, Lysacek changed his diet and his training habits. In the 2002–2003 season, he competed on the 2002–2003 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and won two silver medals. He was the 4th qualifier for the 2002-2003 Junior Grand Prix Final, where he placed 5th. His goal had been to place in the top ten at the U.S. Championships, which he achieved with his 7th place finish at the 2003 United States Figure Skating Championships. His placement at the 2002 U.S. Championships placed him on the U.S. team for the 2003 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. He had been the 3rd alternate for the team to the 2003 Four Continents Championships and was placed on the team after skaters who had qualified ahead of him withdrew. He placed 10th at the 2003 Four Continents Championships in his senior international debut. Due to the United States team's performance at the 2002 World Junior Championships, the U.S. only had two entries in the men's competition. Following the withdrawal of Parker Pennington, the higher ranked man on the two man team, Lysacek was the only United States men's skater at the competition. Lysacek landed the first clean triple axel jump of his career in the qualifying round of the 2003 World Junior Championships and his second clean one in the free skate. In the 2005–2006 season, Lysacek had a rough start. He placed second at the 2005 Skate America, but it was clear that his Grease free skate was not working. Lysacek and coach Frank Carroll made the decision to find a new long program. Lyscek's new Carmen program was a success at the 2005 NHK Trophy, where Lysacek placed second. Lysacek was the sixth and final qualifier to the 2005-2006 ISU Grand Prix Final and was the only American man to qualify for the Grand Prix Final that season. However, he was forced to withdraw from the Final because of Bursitis and tendonitis in his right hip. At the 2006 U.S. Championships, Lysacek was third after the short program, but pulled up to win the free skate, finishing second overall and winning the silver medal. He was named to compete at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, along with countrymen Johnny Weir and Matthew Savoie. At the Olympics, following a 10th place finish in the short program, Lysacek became sick with the stomach flu. Unable to practice, he stayed in bed at the Olympic village, receiving fluids from IVs. After considering withdrawing, he decided to skate the next day and went on to skate a career best free skate. He finished his free skate with eight triple jumps and was ranked third of the night. He finished fourth overall, seven points below the bronze. He commentated on his long program on Olympic Ice the next day with Scott Hamilton and Mary Carillo. Lysacek was credited with landing his first quadruple jump in competition, a quadruple toe loop. He pulled himself up from seventh place in the short on the strength of his long program. After Worlds, Lysacek toured with Champions on Ice as a full member of the cast. In the 2006–2007 season, Lysacek placed second at the 2006. Two weeks later, Lysacek won the gold medal at the 2006 by a 20-point margin. He was the fourth qualifier for the 2006 Grand Prix Final in his second consecutive year in qualifying for the event. However, he withdrew from the competition before he was to skate his short program due to an injury to his hip. Lysacek resumed training a few weeks later. At the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships, he performed his first clean short program of the season, then went on to land his first clean quadruple jump in competition, a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop jump, in the long program, to win his first national title. A week later, Lysacek competed in the 2007 Four Continents. He was fourth after the short program, but made yet another comeback in the free skate, landing a clean quadruple combination, to earn a new personal best and to win his second Four Continents title. At the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships, Lysacek made his first attempt at landing a quadruple jump in the short program. He attempted a quad-triple, but stepped out of the quad and put his hand down, and followed it with a double. He placed fifth in the short program earning his first new short program personal best score in two years. In the long program, he completed a quadruple toe-loop, but lost control of the landing, adding a three turn after it, and was unable to complete the quad-triple as intended. He performed a double loop instead of a planned triple loop and placed fifth once again in the long program, placing fifth over all. Lysacek toured over the summer of 2007 with Champions on Ice for the second consecutive summer. Lysacek began the 2007–2008 season at the 2007 Skate America. He underrotated and fell on an attempted quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop in the short program, receiving only a score of one point for that element. He was in second place going into the free skate. He won the free skate, landing a clean quadruple jump, but was unable to pull up to first overall, due to Daisuke Takahashi's twelve point lead after the short program. He went on to the 2007 Cup of China, where he won the short program with a score of 81.55, improving his personal best by almost thirteen points. He placed second in the free skate after falling on his quad, placing second overall to Johnny Weir. Lysacek was the fourth qualifier for the 2007-2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. At the Final, Lysacek was credited with a quadruple jump in both his programs and won the bronze medal overall, after placing third in both segments of the competition. He earned a new overall personal best of 229.78 points. At the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Lysacek was second after the short program and won the free skate. Although he tied with Johnny Weir on the overall score, Lysacek won the title on the tiebreaker and won his second national title. He was named to the teams to the 2008 Four Continents and the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. At the 2008 Four Continents Championship, Lysacek placed second in the short program and third in the free skate, placing third overall. Lysacek was forced to withdraw from the World Championships the week before the event due to an injury sustained while landing a triple axel. The blade broke off of his boot and he injured the left side of his body, from his forearm to his shoulder, and required a cast. Lysacek toured over the summer of 2008 with the Stars on Ice tour. Lysacek began the 2008-2009 season at the 2008 Skate America, where he won the bronze medal. The following week, he competed at the 2008 Skate Canada International, where he won a second bronze medal. Lysacek was the second alternate for the 2008-2009 ISU Grand Prix Final. Coaching changes Evan Lysacek was originally coached by Candice Brown in Naperville. After that, he worked with Deborah Stoery in and Addison, Illinois for three years. For the next two years, he had an arrangement where he would train under both Addison-based [[Maria Jezak-Athey] and Moscow-based Viktor Kudriavtsev. Kudriavtsev would come to Chicago for part of the year to coach, and Lysacek spent his summers at Kudriavtsev's summer training camps in Moscow, Russia and Flims, Switzerland. When that arrangement proved untenable, Kudriavtsev recommended Lysacek to Carroll, who agreed to coach Lysacek on the condition that Lysacek would work more with Ken Congemi than with himself, due to Carroll's commitments to Timothy Goebel. Lysacek moved to El Segundo, California, California in June 2003 where he worked with both Congemi and Carroll through the 2006/2007 season, after which he began working solely with Carroll. Lysacek has worked with many choreographers over the years, including Oleg Epstein and Kurt Browning. Both his programs for the 2007–2008 season were choreographed by Lori Nichol. He worked with Tatiana Tarasova on his programs for the 2008–2009 season. Competitive highlights Post-2004 *WD = Withdrew Pre-2004 *N = Novice level; J = Junior level; WD = Withdrew References External links * Official site Category:American figure skaters Category:Mens skaters Category:Junior mens skaters Category:World junior medalists Category:Olympic skaters Category:Olympic medalists Category:Olympic champions